CoreFirst Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MET. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in MetLife in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in MetLife during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.99% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of MET stock opened at $84.15 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.73. MetLife, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.30 and a 52 week high of $89.05. The stock has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a return on equity of 20.42% and a net margin of 6.19%. Analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MetLife from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MetLife from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of MetLife from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MetLife from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MetLife presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.58.

MetLife Company Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.